Act Natural
by Vannessa Hillstead
Summary: When in doubt...act natural. [slightly AU SetoxYami Bakura]


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I hated lots of things: the Pharaoh, his friends, the Pharaoh, and several other things that I couldn't place at the moment, but presumably most of them have to do with the Pharaoh.

That's why I was slightly surprised to find out—dice of all things, are incredibly annoying.

I found them especially irritating when they're hanging from the ears of one Otogi, who decided that it would be amusing to sit with Malik and me.

"Leiko likes you."

"Don't care."

I looked to see that at least three girls were sitting at the table in back of him, a table that was only a few feet away from where the Pharaoh and his gang were sitting.

"She's really quite nice," added Otogi, as if to convince me.

"I still--"

I glanced over at Malik; and judged by his face expression, that he was hanging onto Otogi's every word. I don't think that Malik liked the bookworm anymore than I did.

"Well, okay," Otogi sighed in defeat, "how about Anzu?"

"Hell no--"

Malik snorted in laughter. "Of course not; the Pharaoh's clearly in love with her."

He probably should've said that a bit quieter, had he remembered that Anzu and the Pharaoh weren't sitting that far from us. Even though that was the case, he didn't seem to notice the angry looks that the two of them were giving him at the moment.

Otogi frowned, "This is difficult—very difficult. Are there any girls that you actually can stand to be with for more than three seconds?"

"No."

Malik snickered again. "Well, have you considered the fact that many of the girls here aren't exactly his type, Otogi? None of them seem to be interested in someone as insane as he is."

Otogi smiled, "Well, if they're going for the badass type, then he'd have loads of girls to choose from, but he doesn't _like_ any of them."

Malik nodded in agreement. "That's true—wait; didn't some girl ask you out on Valentine's Day?"

I stared at him. "Really…I don't recall. What was her name again?"

Both Otogi and Malik began staring at me in disbelief.

"You forgot her name?"

"Of course—didn't like her. She was some transfer from America or something. We didn't really talk much after I told her that she wasn't the first to ask me out that day."

"You told her off?" asked Otogi, still staring at me in disbelief.

"Yes, what's the problem with that?" I inquired, trying to figure out why the two of them were making such a big deal out of nothing. I wanted to enjoy my lunch in peace; not be bothered by these two.

Well, maybe not peace, but not be disturbed by these two, at least.

"She was pretty," added Malik. After a few moments of awkward silence, he started scanning the room, "I have to go."

He then rushed off to stalk my light; well, not stalk. _Talk._ That's what Ryou calls it. I, however, call it _stalking._

It really amounts to the same thing when Malik is concerned.

"What about Miho?"

I turned back to face Otogi, who was apparently still in Let's Get Bakura To Start Dating mode.

"Honda likes her, and she likes Ryou."

"You look like Ryou."

Since I was unwilling to respond to that comment, I started looking around the cafeteria. With the only person that I can call a friend having gone off to stalk my light, I needed someone to entertain me. Or at least sit with until the bell rings for the next class.

And Otogi doesn't count; especially when he's trying to get me to check out girls that he already knows I don't like.

That's when I spotted Kaiba sitting a few tables away from the Pharaoh and his gang. He was deeply immersed in some thick book, occasionally looking up from the text to scan the room. It's obvious why he had chosen the spot, as of the Pharaoh's friends, he was sitting the closest to Jonouchi. He could glare at him without any of Jonouchi's friends noticing. When he looked up again, his eyes met mine for a second, maybe not even, before flicking back to the book.

"—Mai'd be nice for you," Otogi continued to rant, "She's a good duelist."

"She's in love with Jonouchi."

"Well, maybe not her, what about Shizuka? She's pretty, smart, innocent, a decent duelist—do you like her?"

"You like her Otogi—besides, you made two of those up," was my cynical reply. At this point, I stood up, and left the table.

"Wait…did you just say that Shizuka wasn't smart and a decent duelist?" he cried, as I continued to walk away from him.

"Come back here!"

…Not happening.

I set my tray down across from Kaiba's. He looked up for a moment, before going back to his reading.

"Leiko likes you," saida high-pitched female voice.

"I don't care." I realized that as I said these words, Kaiba said them as well, and when the girl had come to the table, he hadn't looked up at all.

The girl, whoever she was, trudged back to her friends, to report the sad news—Kaiba didn't seem to care, and he was probably more annoyed that they had caused him to nearly lose his spot in his book.

Perhaps he is my type.

The two of us continued to sit in silence. For some reason, it isn't a bad silence. Some sitcom referred to it as a, "Nothing needs to be said," silence.

I don't know why; but, it's almost as though he knew exactly why I sat at his table. In a way, it's almost as though he can read my mind.

But, I had a feeling that he was watching the entire time—he's not the type to let things happen without him knowing about them.

I guess I'm the same way.

The bell signaling the end of lunch started to ring; only it's not the regular bell. Rather, something like church bells began to come from the PDA system. I scanned the cafeteria, having realized that Malik was no longer stalking—_talking_—to Ryou.

The second that the singing began, Kaiba, showing no sign that he had begun to hear the song, got up and went out the door of the cafeteria, not even bothering to glare at Jonouchi on the way out.

Within seconds, the whole room descended into chaos. And I didn't get to cause it.

I could tell that the Pharaoh and his friends are glaring at me at this very moment, sure that I caused Hells Bells to be played on the PDA system.

Ignoring them, I followed Kaiba into the hallway, staying a good ways behind him. He turned down a corridor, and I'm still behind him. It seemed as though I was stalking him the same way that Malik stalks Ryou.

I soon realized a second later that my next class is leagues away from this one.

Why the hell am I following him then?

He stopped dead in his tracks, and didn't bother turning around.

"Why are you following me, Bakura?"

The way that the words came out of his mouth was not like a question—more like a statement.

He didn't turn around, but I got the feeling that he knew that I was following him the entire time.

It appeared that we had another thing in common.

I turned, and went down the opposite corridor, well aware of the fact that I was going to be late for Chemistry.

"—and despite the fact that he nearly caused a riot at lunch, Malik will be joining us for class."

Malik slid into the seat to the left of me, ecstatic about how well the whole situation at lunch went.

"I—"

"Don't."

"What happened to you?"

I raised an eyebrow at him; and decided that it's probably best to say nothing to him. It's nearly a guarantee that anything that anyone ever says to Malik will become general knowledge within a couple of hours.

He eyed me carefully, searching for the truth.

"You like Kaiba."

Within a second, maybe less, Otogi appeared in the seat to my right.

"I heard you like Kaiba."

I swear these two have some sort of freaky connection going on…

"Does he like you?" asked Otogi. The two of them are now staring at me, waiting for some sort of exciting answer.

I refused to respond to that question.

About ten minutes pass, during which I had to evade all sorts of questions from both Malik and Otogi, not to mention avoid the teacher, who was watching the three of us like a hawk.

"—He's just like you. Maybe he likes you back, then again, he's pretty much asexual."

"Don't care," I lied.

Both of them seem to have caught the fact that I've lied, as I could tell by the smug expressions on their faces.

The rest of the class went on like this; a sort of battle between myself and them; in which they are constantly hurtling questions that nearly explode the second that I hear them; and I have to duck for cover.

Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration...

The second that I heard the bell ring, I left the class room.

Never mind that the teacher hadn't finished talking.

Never mind that everyone's staring at me.

Never mind that Otogi and Malik are acting stranger than normal…

The usual rush of students to get to their next class hasn't begun yet, so I was the only person wandering the halls.

Except…

Kaiba…

He was leaning against the wall right by the water fountain; and looked as though he's been expecting someone.

The second that I walked past him, he handed me a note, and walked off in the opposite direction.

For the first time in a long time, I was at a loss for words.

I looked at the crinkled up piece of paper, which read:

_I know you like me._

I stared at the paper without blinking for the longest time. I didn't even notice the fact that the entire hallway was swarming with people.

He figured it out…

He definitely is my type.


End file.
